Vimalakirti

Hi everyone!

I would like to start out my blog post by saying that the Vimalakirti story is hands down my favorite reading we’ve done so far in this class. Not only did I enjoy the actual story of Licchavi Vimalakirti (though in my opinion he comes across as a pompous prick), this reading really brought together all the ideas we’ve discussed for the past couple weeks. 

I think the main reason that this reading was so accessible to me as a reader was because it was in story form. From the first paragraph, the story pulled me in and kept me reading. Broad philosophical concepts such as subject-object duality and the nature of Dharma were broken down into bite-sized pieces, and were expressed as conversations or vignettes of venerable disciples being schooled by Licchavi Vimalakirti.  Seriously, the guy is like a walking philosophical “Ask Jeeves.” I also found it slightly amusing that he always shows up when a disciple is doing something wrong. Whether it be in a “square in the great city of Vaisali,” a “great forest” or even the disciple’s own home (sorry Jagatimdhara), Licchavi Vimalakirti will find you and educate you (and anyone you’re with) about the Dharma and the secrets of the Universe. No wonder no one wants to pay him a house visit when he’s sick.

Not only was this reading interesting and often amusing (e.g “thirty-two hundred thousand thrones” descended from the sky), it helped me realize some key ideas about the nature of Buddhist philosophy. For example, I always knew that nirvana was the major goal of Buddhism, but I never really understood why normal people would continue teaching others after they conceived enlightenment. Call me a skeptic, but from my observations, generally people only do things if it benefits themselves in some way. However, this reading cleared up this confusion with an explanation of “The Inexhaustible Lamp.” As explained by Vimalakirti (typical), “the more you teach and demonstrate virtuous qualities to others, the more you grow with respect to these virtuous qualities” and eventually “you will repay the kindness of the Tathagata, and you will become the benefactors of all living things.”

I also came to the conclusion that this reading (and arguably several passages in the Pali Nikayas) is a sort of philosophical algorithm. When encountered with a seemingly unsolvable divine problem or paradox,  Buddhist philosophers will systematically discuss every solution that could possibly be conceived. From those solutions, philosophers will pick the one that best answers their question. Profound differences in opinion about the “best” solutions in turn give rise to different schools of thought.